The Next Generation
by Nicki1
Summary: Corny title....Following up on what happens to Harry and Friends after graduating from Hogwarts. What will the next generation of witches and wizards be like? Read and Review!!
1. Strange Occurances

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own anything from the Harry Potter books. The wonderfully amazing J.K. Rowling has that privilege. But I DO own the original characters, so BACK OFF!! xP Or the Flaming Green Jello gets to chase you around the Insaney Pit of Doom. ^_^ Well, hope you enjoy the story! Review please, I like input.  
  
  
  
  
  
The little emerald green bird on the windowsill hopped around anxiously, tweeting and chirping as he peered through the window at a sleeping girl.  
  
She was normal looking, with messy brown hair, and silvery blue eyes behind her tightly closed eyelids. Her name was Nikai McKinnon. Why any bird would want to be around her was beyond her comprehension, but she usually didn't argue.  
  
On this morning however, it was taking her longer to wake up. The little bird let out a frustrated chirp, looking around for a way to get inside. He started pecking at the window furiously, and his efforts were rewarded. On the other side of the window, Nikai sat up slowly as she rubbed her eyes. She looked at the bird, who started hopping around again, and smiled.  
  
"So he wants to get in again, huh?" Climbing out of bed, she walked across the room to the window and slid it open. The little bird hopped onto the chest of drawers by the window, chirping happily. Nikai laughed, sitting down on the low window seat. "Well, aren't you a happy one today?" The bird cocked his head, twittering questioningly. Nikai shook her head, smiling still. "No, I'm happy too.after all, today is my birthday." The bird hopped around excitedly, then started to sing a little song.  
  
When he was done, he bent his little emerald head while Nikai clapped. "Wonderful! That sounded exactly like--" She was about to say "Happy Birthday to You", but footsteps interrupted her, and the little green bird flashed out the window. The door to her room opened, and a sandy haired lady poked her head inside.  
  
"'Morning sunshine! We're all downstairs whenever you're ready."  
  
"All right, I'll come down right now." The lady smiled, shutting the door as she left. Nikai grabbed a pair of well-worn slippers, then struggled to put them on as she pushed the door open, and hopped out into the hall. She fumbled with her slipper for a moment, then jumped onto the staircase railing and slid to the bottom. As she hopped off, she could hear the sound of sizzling bacon, even over the large amount of noise the twins were making.  
  
"I'm gonna start eating if you don't get out here now Nikai!" a voice called out. Nikai skidded into the kitchen, thumping into her chair just as a sandy haired boy was about to bite off a chunk of bacon. Nikai stuck her tongue out at him. He was about to so the same when a tall man with messy blonde hair sat down at the head of the table and gave him a look of warning.  
  
The sandy haired lady sat down, setting a plate of French toast in the middle of the table.  
  
"Keo, don't forget your promise." she warned the boy.  
  
A blonde girl on the other side of the table sighed loudly. "Can we get going.I'm starving, and I promised Nadine I'd meet her at the vacant lot in an hour.OW!!"  
  
An identical blonde boy had poked her in the ribs. "You aren't the only one with plans!"  
  
The girl scoffed. "Talon, you think dying is planned!"  
  
"Don't even start with me."  
  
"Talon! Trick!" their mom exclaimed sharply. "If you want to eat, you have to say one nice thing about Nikai." The twins looked at their sister blankly.  
  
"She has nice toes."  
  
"She keeps her nose clean."  
  
Nikai and Keo struggled not to laugh as the twins kept straight faces. Letting out an exaggerated sigh, their mom exclaimed, "Dig in!"  
  
What happened next would have shocked Martha Stewart into a coma. Everyone grabbed French toast and bacon as fast as they possibly could, then ate it all just as fast. The table was absolutely void of food within 30 minutes. Talon dropped his fork onto his plate and let out a loud burp. As he noticed his mother's glare, he began to protest.  
  
"At least I didn't burp up a slug!" Suddenly, for some unexplainable reason, their parents started busting up with laughter.  
  
"R-Ron." their dad gasped, making mom laugh even harder. All the kids exchanged glances, while their parents started to calm down.  
  
"Who's Ron?" Keo asked, leaning back in his chair.  
  
"Don't w-worry," his mom stammered, still trying to catch her breath. "You'll meet him soon enough."  
  
"Oh yeah!" dad exclaimed, jumping up from his chair. "That reminds me." He walked to the kitchen counter, picked up a small manila envelope, and then walked back to his seat. Mom smiled, turning to Nikai.  
  
"Your dad and I both got you a birthday present. One that we each got separately, and one that we both got for you."  
  
Dad leaned forward in his seat, elbows resting on the table. "My present is an honest-to-goodness promise."  
  
"Dad, it's always a promise!" Trick groaned.  
  
"Exactly. And I promise not to go to the office anymore."  
  
"No way!"  
  
"That is so cool!"  
  
"Really Da-"  
  
"AHEM." Mom cleared her throat loudly, and the kids faced her. "My present is a shopping trip."  
  
"Thanks mom!" Nikai jumped up to hug her, exclaiming, "I needed to buy new motocross gear anyway!"  
  
"What about me?" Trick protested. Talon started to laugh.  
  
"You? Go shopping?! What a riot." As Trick started wrestling her twin, dad handed the manila envelope to Nikai.  
  
"This is our present," he said softly, with a smile Nikai had never sent before.  
  
"Happy Birthday darling," her mom said, eyes brimming over with tears. Nikai took the manila envelope in her hands, looking at it quietly.  
  
*Everything's gonna change, won't it?* she thought silently, as if speaking to someone else. She sat there for a few moments, until Keo finally exclaimed, "Open it up already!!"  
  
Nikai jumped a bit, then slowly opened the envelope. She put her hand inside, then slowly pulled out six pieces of stiff paper. Her parents were now smiling broadly as Nikai looked them over. Confused, she looked up at her mom. "They're.they're plane tickets-one way to London." Talon paused long enough to shout out, "London?!", before his twin started twisting his arm. Mom and dad were smiling brightly, even with all the havoc the twins were creating. "Why London?" Nikai asked slowly, unsure if she really wanted to hear the answer.  
  
Mom and dad smiled at each other, then exclaimed together, "We're moving to England!" Total silence fell. The twins froze mid-strangle; Keo, who had been examining the plane tickets, dropped them to the floor; and Nikai just stared.  
  
Suddenly something flew in through the kitchen window. There was a loud flapping of wings, and some creature zoomed low over the table. The kids ducked, shouting loudly. Talon even got close to cursing, but Trick kicked him swiftly in the shin. The creature circled around, and flew over the table once more. But this time, something was dropped onto the table. As the flapping quieted down, the kids slowly brought their heads up from underneath the table.  
  
Mom and dad were sitting there quietly, but with a strange look on their faces. On the table was what appeared to be the mail.there was a parcel, three letters, and a newspaper. But it was what had perched itself on the kitchen windowsill that really made them stare. A large, tawny hoot owl was perched on the windowsill hooting happily, as if it was pleased with itself. Everyone sat still for a moment.but only a moment.  
  
"I gotta go tell Nadine!" Trick exclaimed, bursting from her seat. Talon followed.  
  
"You'll probably tell it wrong!" he called out after her. Dad stood up as well, grinning weakly at his wife.  
  
"I need to.er.go check some things over with the.um.movers! Yeah.I'll be going now." He stood up quickly, grabbed his coat from the peg by the door, and rushed outside. Keo, shaking his head slowly, started to grin.  
  
"The guys will never believe this!" he exclaimed, grabbing a pair of old sneakers as he ran out the door. This left Nikai and her mom, alone in the kitchen with the owl. Nikai looked at the letters in the middle of the table, then at the owl. The owl stared back, as if to taunt her. Breaking her gaze, Nikai turned to her mom.  
  
"Explanation, please. 


	2. Say WHAT!

Author's Note: If anyone has a suggestion for who Harry should be hooked up with, feel free to tell me! I'm starting to think he needs someone OTHER than Cho, but I don't know who. Heck, if you have a character that you want Harry to be hooked up with, email me a bio/description at nicki_dm@hotmail.com THANKS!!!!  
  
  
  
  
  
Nikai's mom fidgeted in her chair, glancing at the owl, who had swooped onto the table and was now eating the bacon rinds on Talon's plate.  
  
"Umm.well.what exactly do you want explained?"  
  
"First off," Nikai picked up the tickets from the floor. "Why are we moving to England?" Her mom nodded slowly, thinking her answer over carefully.  
  
"Well, I guess the main reason we're moving is because your dad and I want you kids to have the same education we had."  
  
"What's that, St. Mary's Big Old British Academy?"  
  
Her mom scoffed at the idea. "No. Those powder puffs wouldn't be able to teach you anything useful. No sir, you kids deserve what we were given at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Slightly amused at Nikai's amazed expression, she continued. "You're dad is a wizard, I'm a witch."  
  
This piece of information hit Nikai hard. She had always known her parents were different than most.they never mentioned their own family, and Nikai had never seen a single picture of her relatives.they had hundreds of locked trunks in their attic with no keys.Nikai had even heard them whispering about "Muggles" once. But this, no, this topped them all. A witch and wizard?!  
  
A small smile spread across Nikai's face as an idea popped into her head.  
  
"So, if I were to dump water on you, would.??" Her mom smiled.  
  
"No, I would not melt. Sorry dear!"  
  
"Nah, that's okay. So what kind of magic can you do?"  
  
"All sorts. Anyone can do magic if they're taught how," her mom said gently. "And that's just what they'll do at Hogwarts. They'll even teach you more than you would ever dream."  
  
Nikai nodded slowly, thinking all this over. The owl, who had let out a reproachful hoot, suddenly caught her attention. Her mom held her hand, and the owl hopped over, perching on her wrist. "Sorry Jauncey, I almost forgot to thank you! You did a wonderful job, bringing us our mail. I'll get you some food." Her mom carried the owl, (who's name was Jauncey), over to the kitchen counter. Jauncey hopped off her wrist, and waited patiently as she poured some oats and milk into a bowl. She set it down in front of Jauncey, and then walked back to the table.  
  
"So, what kind of mail do wizards and witches get?" Nikai asked curiously. Her mom picked up the stack of mail Jauncey had dropped on the table, and sat down in her seat.  
  
"Oh, nothing too different from normal Muggle mail."  
  
"Muggle mail?"  
  
Her mom laughed slightly. "That's right, you don't know what Muggles are! Well, simply put, Muggles are non-magical people. They don't believe in magic, or have no idea it exists. And believe me when I say that it takes a heck of a lot of effort to keep them from finding out about magic." She picked up the newspaper, looking at the front page. At first, her face went into a surprised expression. Then it changed into a totally satisfied smile, and she opened the newspaper up. Nikai didn't think much of the front page. The headline was about something she didn't quite understand. "Arthur Weasley, New Minister of Magic." And there was a black and white photograph of a slightly aged man underneath the headline.then it caught her. The man in the photograph was moving. He was actually smiling and waving his hand energetically! Nikai stared at the photograph, until the man finally burst into silent laughter.  
  
"M-mom?"  
  
"Yes dear?"  
  
"Why is that photograph moving?"  
  
Her mom glanced at the photograph of the man, who was still laughing uncontrollably. Then, she started to laugh a bit herself. "I almost forgot.wizard photos don't hold still like Muggle photos. They actually move around." Nikai nodded slowly, catching on to something.  
  
"So, that's why we've never seen any pictures of our relatives? Because they're all moving around?"  
  
Her mom smiled proudly. "I told your dad you would be the one to catch on quickest! Now he owes me those five Galleons." Nikai was about to ask what Galleons were, but decided against it. Her mom now picked up the three letters, looking over the addresses on them. "One from Cho and Harry.wonder what they've got to say?" She picked up one of the knives on the table, and then carefully slit open a slightly dirty envelope. She pulled out a sheet of parchment, and started to read the letter. "Hmm.they're excited to have us move back.remind me to send them an owl when we get to our new home, all right Nikai?"  
  
"Sure mom, send them an owl." Nikai leaned back in her seat, looking at Jauncey. He stared back at her, his eyes unblinking. Nikai, determined not to let some owl beat her, continued to stare at him while her mom continued to comment on the letters out loud.  
  
"You know, they've got a boy your age.as a matter of fact, so do Ron and Hermione."  
  
*Wonder who Ron and Hermione are.in fact, I don't know any of these people she's talking about.* Her mom had put down that letter and opened another one.  
  
"Ron wrote, says they were going to have a party to celebrate Mr. Weasley's new position.I guess they postponed it just for us." Nikai's eyes were watering, but she refused to break eye contact with Jauncey.  
  
*I think.yep, he's definitely getting weaker.* Jauncey suddenly blinked, causing Nikai to blink as well. As she smiled happily, he glared at her sullenly. Now mom was reading another letter.  
  
"Hmm.Fred and George have another idea they want to run past your dad. Remind me to make sure he sends them an owl."  
  
"Yeah, owl to Cho and Harry; owl to Fred and George, gottcha." There was now only the package to be opened. As her mom picked it up and read the address, a look of surprise mingled with appreciation came over her face. She handed the package to Nikai.  
  
"It's for you." Surprised, yet excited, Nikai took the package and looked it over.  
  
It wasn't everyday she got something by owl post, and she was going to enjoy this. She ripped open the brown wrapping paper, and a large, silver envelope fell onto her lap. There was also a small silvery box, which she carefully placed on the table. Taking one of the knives from the table, she carefully slit the envelope open. As she pulled out the card, there was a slight shower of shimmering dust. Her mom smiled.  
  
"Pixie dust! Whoever sent you that card must have really wanted to make it special for you.pixies aren't exactly the nicest creatures." Nikai looked over the card. It was very different from most birthday cards she had received before.but then again, she had never gotten a card from a wizard before. It was the same silver color its envelope was, and there was no writing on the front. As she opened the card, jets of colored light shot out. They noiselessly shot up to the ceiling, and then exploded like fireworks. Her mom laughed loudly, her smile even wider.  
  
"Now I know who sent you that card.only one person has ever been able to put a Silencing Charm on the Weasley Twin Fireworks." Nikai smiled.  
  
Suddenly, music came out of the card. It was obviously four people singing "Happy Birthday to You", and a couple of the voices sounded like they were being forced to sing. When they had finished singing the last line, the voices shouted "HAPPY BIRTHDAY NIKAI!!" One of the voices began to speak. It was an obvious male, around her dad's age.  
  
"Now that you've heard our ear splitting rendition of "Happy Birthday to You"."  
  
"RON!"  
  
"OW, Hermione you didn't have to nudge me so hard!" Nikai's mom stifled a laugh. Another voice, female, interrupted the bickering.  
  
"We're taping you two."  
  
"Oh!" A different male voice began to speak.  
  
"Happy birthday Nikai! You're probably wondering who we all are by now. Hopefully, this will help you." A hologram image projected itself out of the card. In the image was an adult, another man about her dad's age. He had a mess of black hair, sticking up at all ends. Round glasses framed his bright green eyes, and the lightning shape scar on his forehead was barely visible through his hair. He smiled brightly at her, although Nikai was sure he couldn't possibly see her. "I'm Harry Potter, one of your parents' friends from Hogwarts." A Chinese woman came to stand beside him. She smiled as well.  
  
"I'm Cho Potter, another friend from Hogwarts. Maybe you've already heard of me by now, if your mom read the letter out loud again." Nikai's mom blushed slightly. The hologram widened, and two other adults entered. The man with bright red hair spoke first.  
  
"I'm Ron Weasley, and yeah, I'm one of your parents' friends from Hogwarts too." The woman with a bush of brown hair spoke next.  
  
"I'm Hermione Weasley, yet another friend. Hopefully we'll be able to see you again soon." Their voices matched those of the two who were fighting earlier. Cho began to speak again.  
  
"We wanted to be the first to send you something by owl post. We all got to see you before your family left for America, and we've wanted to talk to you ever since. To see how you've grown up, you know." Hermione smiled.  
  
"And if your parents have stayed the same since they left, then you've probably grown up quite well."  
  
"Of course she has!" Ron interrupted. "This is Jay and Allora McKinnon we're talking about!" He turned back to face Nikai. "Harry and I talked these two birds (he gestured to Hermione and Cho) into getting you a little present."  
  
"We really hope you enjoy it Nikai," Harry said quickly before Hermione and Cho could protest against Ron. "And I've got a little tip for you.things really start to change once you turn eleven. And trust me, no matter how hard or impossible they seem, you can turn them into something good."  
  
"C'mon Harry, don't start scaring her now!" Ron added. Hermione seemed to be looking at something below them.  
  
"We've only got a few more seconds!" Everybody looked up at Nikai and waved energetically.  
  
"SEE YOU SOON!" they all shouted together. The hologram disappeared, and Nikai slid the card back into its envelope. Her mom was smiling at her.  
  
"So? What did you think?" Nikai appeared to be thinking deeply about this. Then she smiled broadly.  
  
"I can't wait to meet them in person." She picked up the small silvery box on the table and opened it up. Inside was a bag labeled "Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans", several large golden coins, and a few smaller boxes labeled "Chocolate Frogs". Her mom started to laugh when she saw the Beans.  
  
"You might want to be careful with those," she said, pointing to them. "When they say "Every Flavor", they're quite serious. You can get normal flavors like strawberry, chocolate, lemon, and orange. But they also throw in flavors like curry, ear wax, grass, and herring." Nikai glanced at the Beans.  
  
"So, they do that all by magic?"  
  
"I think so," her mom said with a slight nod. Nikai grinned widely.  
  
"I think I'm gonna like this magic stuff after all." 


End file.
